Transcript 11-Mercury-Elizabeth Rubio

Mercury In the Environment
By: Elizabeth Rubio
Chemistry 1A: 31192
• Since World War II, when the
explosive growth of the chemical
industry began, more than 70,000
chemicals have come into
commercial use worldwide, and
more than 1,000 new ones are
proposed for manufacture each
year. Yet, very little is known
about the impact of most of these
chemicals on human health. The
National Academy of Sciences has
estimated that fewer than 10% of
them have been tested to the
point where their ability to cause
cancer or reproductive damage is
understood.
• Fish-eating is a major route of
exposure to many pollutants
because fish are good at
accumulating chemicals in their
bodies. Other animals are also
accumulators. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
reports that 75% of the average
American's dioxin exposure is
through consumption of meat and
dairy products. Breathing, drinking
water, and skin absorption can be
other major routes of exposure,
depending on the type of chemical
such as mercury.
From 1979 to 1987, the U.S.
Center for Disease
Control kept records of 38
types of birth defects and
their incidence in roughly
15% of children born in
the U.S. --- they found
that 29 types of birth
defects increased, 2
decreased, and 7
remained stable (changed
less than 2%).
• The birth defects from
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Mercury poisoning are
Minamata disease ( a
disease that causes
insanity, paralysis, and
death)
Ataxia
Numbness in hands and
feet
Muscle weakness
Damage to hearing,
speech , and vision.
• Minamata disease was
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first discovered in
Minamata city, Japan in
1956.
The disease was caused
from the release of
methylmercury in the
industrial wastewater
from the Chisso Corp.
chemical factory, which
continued from 19321968.
• The toxic chemical
bioaccumulated in shellfish and
fish in Minamata Bay and the
Shiranui Sea, which was then
eaten by the people who live
the area and the result
mercury poisoning.
• In March of 2001 2,265 victims
were recognized and 1,784 of
them died.
• In 1965 another outbreak in
Niigata Prefecture .
• This disease is 1 of the 4 Big
Pollution Diseases in Japan.
• Mercury not only causes a disease. It
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also causes:
Infant deaths
Spontaneous abortions
Still births and miscarriages
Birth defects
Asthma
Hormone Disruption
Reproductive changes in both men and
women
The Nervous system
Thyroid Dysfunction
Declining in Intelligence
Immune system damage
Metabolic Abnormalities
Chemical sensitivity